


From Here 'Til Utopia

by parkattack



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Consensual Underage Sex, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-28 15:39:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5096051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkattack/pseuds/parkattack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fun little high school au, focusing mainly around Dan and Arin. Barry introduces the two at a party and they form an unlikely friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Two Have Fun

**Author's Note:**

> awkward party tiiiime  
> enjoy my first attempt at gg trash <3

Arin had no idea what he was thinking the first time he saw Dan. Dan was widely known for being the most steady supply of weed to the whole school, and generally considered a cool guy by every social group. Fortunately, Dan was actually a super cool guy, so no one had to pretend to be his friend - it just came naturally.

Arin, being quiet and relatively self-conscious, didn't know much of anyone and was therefore intimidated to the point of speechlessness upon his first contact with Dan, towards the end of freshman year of high school.

He had never had fantasies about being a tough guy in real life, but for some reason he though pretending he was a punk with a posse would impress Dan. He did it as a joke with his friends all the time, so it couldn't be that hard, right? Through his naivety and innocence, he assumed that anyone who dealt pot must be a complete badass with tons of street cred.

They were both at a party that one of his friends had managed to drag Arin to; Dan was there for obvious reasons. Tonight was gonna be a big night for both of them. Dan was wearing an abstract Minecraft t-shirt that looked like it was designed by an independant artist and some skinny jeans that had been worn out to the point of not being skinny anymore. Arin wore a Sailor Moon t-shirt and his comfiest sweatpants. He was hoping he would make this process easier by dressing comfy, but he only felt more vulnerable being seen in the things he wore around at home.

Arin wasn't planning to drink that night, but his friend brought him over a beer at some point, so he felt obligated to at least hold it. Another friend, Barry, one of the more socially connected nerds from school, brought Dan over to introduce them. Arin's eyes flitted between the two boys as they approached.

“Dan, have you had the pleasure of meeting my good friend Arin yet?” Barry slapped a friendly arm around Arin’s shoulder, though he was already a bit (read: a lot) past tipsy and didn’t know his own strength. Leaning in towards Dan - and nearly toppling both Arin and himself over in the process, he stage whispered, “I promise he’s not actually a mute.”

With a chuckle, Dan admitted that he actually had seen Arin before. “Actually, this guy has a locker like three spaces down from me. I dunno if I can believe you, though.” The calm, almost dopey smile that Dan gave Arin was absolutely disarming.

“Haha… I guess I just think a lot. In my own little, weird world.”

“That’s cool, man, I get it,” Dan said amicably.

Barry was starting to be less and less vertical by minute and it was getting a bit too much for Arin to bear with all his dead weight.

“You look like you could use a little break from the craziness. Wanna chill out on the patio for a while?”

“Fuck yes!” Arin replied not even attempting to mask his relief. Barry was lowered onto a couch with as much dignity as possible.

“You two have fuuuuun…” were the last words that made it from him mouth before he curled up and promptly fell asleep.


	2. No Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin takes his first leap into high school culture with Dan as a guide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for underage drug use

It was still early spring, so the two boys could see their breath puff up into the sky as they exhaled. When they first stepped out, they fell into stiff silence. With the double pane patio door slid shut, all the sounds from inside were muffled to the point that they could almost be ignored. Not being one for awkward silences, Dan procured a thin joint from a pouch he had in his corner pocket. The paper was a powdery blue, which piqued Arin’ interest despite never being interested in smoking anything before. For a while he tried to go “straight edge”, but he quickly folded when the caffeine withdrawal started to kick in.

Dan held it up, letting Arin inspect it from a safe distance. “Obviously you don’t have to, but I’m more than happy to share. You kinda look like you could use it anyway.”

There was a lump in Arin’s throat so big he didn’t think he could have inhaled anything even if he wanted to. He was tempted, but he also knew next to nothing about drugs. What if he hallucinated his head turned into a fucking eyeball or something? ‘I’m sure Dan would think I’m such a neat guy then.’ Arin rolled his eyes internally at himself.

When Dan started to retract his offer, Arin’s eyes suddenly shot to him in indecision. “I mean, man, you don’t gotta try it if you don’t want…” Dan rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, wondering if he had been a dick by getting all peer-pressurey on this kid who was already way out of his comfort zone.

“No no, it’s fine, just… you first, okay?”

Another soft chuckle from Dan. Not judgemental, just amused. “You sure?”

“Yes, man! If you wait any much longer, we’re gonna freeze to death out here!”

Dan took another moment to scan Arin’s face, making sure he wasn’t about to let a kid have a super shitty first high. “Alright,” he decided, drawing a Zippo from the opposite pocket and lighting the joint with such grace and absent-mindedness that only came from years of experience. After a couple of drags to get it going, he passed it off to Arin, who practically held it like a bomb.

He mimicked Dan’s actions as closely as he could, his apprehension helping him take a slow, steady breath and he silently thanked the gods that at least in this way he wouldn’t look like a total fool in front of one of the coolest people he’s probably ever met.

“Whoa, look at you! You’re a pro already!”

Arin chuckled sheepishly and the smoke hit the back of his throat just a little too hard, sending him into an absurdly loud coughing fit. Dan burst out into hyena-esque laughter his voice breaking every time he came close to running out of breath. “Oh, shit, I’m so sorry,” he apologized, still giggling. He gave Arin a few firm pats on the back, trying to get his lungs and diaphragm back in working order.

“Fuuuuuck…” Arin sounded pissed at first, but as the world began to shift in front of his eyes - ever so gently shifted right before his eyes - his voice trailed off into a dreamy whisper. “Fuck, dude,” he repeated dreamily.

“Good?” Dan asked nervously.

“Fuuuuuuuck!” Arin turned his head to Dan, stars in his eyes.

Dan burst out in another bout of laughter, leaning against the side of the house and holding his gut. “Do you wanna sit down? Soak it all in?”

He didn’t need any time to decide what he wanted to do though. With a childlike glee he announced, “I wanna draw!”  



	3. Arin Wants Snake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arin performs light B&E.

Dan wasn’t sure if he should take him seriously at first, but when Arin’s grin didn’t fade, he smiled. “Right on; personally, I like to write when I’m stoned. Never been much for drawing, but that’s alright. Do you have something to draw with?”

A look of realization popped up on Arin’s face. “Yeah, but it’s back in the bedroom with the rest of my stuff.”

Dan waited for Arin to make a move for the door, but when Arin didn’t, Dan waited for him to speak again. He waited a few moments longer; still nothing.

“Uh, do you wanna go get it?”

“I don’t wanna go back in there,” Arin admitted reluctantly.

“Oh, huh.” Dan considered their option while he took another long drag off the joint. “I bet we could crawl in through the window. How good of a climber are you?”

Dan offered Arin another hit, which he took with much less trepidation than before.

“I’ve always wanted to be just like Snake,” Arin murmured like he was in the middle of a daydream, completely side-stepping the question.

The taller boy fell victim to another round of laughter. “Alright, let’s make it happen!” He delicately snuffed out the joint when Arin handed it back to him, carefully returning it from whence it came.

As it turned out, Dan was the only one tall enough to see in the windows of the side of the house the bedroom was on, since that side was half a floor higher than the rest.

“Welp, finally found it,” Dan announced, relieved to find the window cracked open when he reached up to test if it was locked.

“Dude, I can totally crawl in if you lift me up!”

“Yeah, okay,” Dan chuckled, more curious to see what would happen rather than confident in their ability to make it in.

Their efforts were awkward at first. In his new state of mind, Arin felt fuzzy and light, making it hard to orient himself. Not to mention, Dan wasn’t sure where to put his hands. He knew he hand a bad habit of getting handsy when he was under the influence.

With a lot of maneuvering and giggling, Arin managed to finally fall in through the window, laughing so loud he could barely curse on his way down.

“Shit, are you okay?!” Dan called up. No answer, but he judged from the continued giggling and sounds of rummaging that he couldn’t be hurt that badly.

Not much later, Arin reappeared in the window. “This miiiight be a bad idea,” he said, trying to judge the distance to the ground.

Dan held his arms up, taking up a silly, princely voice, “m’lady! If you would do me the honor I would be so delighted to break to fall!”

Pretending to swoon, Arin placed a hand to his forehead and fluttered his eyelashes, before responding bluntly, “naw, dude, I’d break your back if I landed on you with my fat ass. I’m sure I can just drop down, just… move outta the way.”

For a moment, Arin seemed more concerned with the safety of his notebook than his bones. He really wasn’t that far up, however, so even though he was a little undignified about Arin, Arin managed to return safely to the ground.

“Right on!” Dan gave Arin a celebratory high five.

On the way back to the porch, Arin spotted a play structure, equipped with a small fort at the top of a long slide.

“Ah, we gotta check it out!” Almost without realizing it, he grabbed Dan by the hand and dragged im off to the wooden structure.


End file.
